Page 16 of Heartless (Scathing Hearts #1)

Her head jack-boxed out of the fridge. Her big eyes ate her face. She slapped her hand over her scream and dropped her chin.

Making my voice gentle, I rounded the island. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She was twisting her fingers in front of her, but with her gaze on the floor I couldn’t tell what had made her tense. I stepped forward, and her little hands clenched into fists.

“Do you need some help carrying the tray to your quarters?”

The curls of her ponytail twitched at the shake of her head. “I’m all right, thank you.”

A few seconds passed before her smooth legs, left bare by her short shorts, scurried around the other end of the counter.

She picked up the bowl of berries and placed it in the fridge, then she returned the bag of chips to the pantry.

When she reached for the tray, I caught its edge, and she yanked her hand away.

“Sienna, It’s okay. You—”

“I’m not starving myself,” she whispered to the tiles.

I knew she wasn’t. I just wanted her to not be so fucking beaten down.

“Sienna—”

She tagged her book and hurried out of the kitchen.

After giving her a couple of minutes to reach her quarters, I went to my office and turned the monitors on. She’d tucked her body in the corner of the couch in her library and squeezed her knees to her chest.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Fuck.”

****

On Saturday, after my run, I shut the front door behind me.

A pop song was blasting through the house.

The same damn song that had been playing before I’d left.

I stepped between the kitchen’s archway.

There was no sign of Cam, but Sienna was humming and dancing by the sink with her back to me.

Her ponytail was swaying, and her round ass was rolling side to side in rhythm with the music.

It’d been two weeks since I’d taken her to her mother’s grave, and I’d sometimes heard her laugh with Cam. She had a pretty laugh.

Her happy tone cut through the singer’s upbeat lyrics. “Camila, the tomatoes are washed. Do I slice them or cut them in quarters?”

At the lack of response, she twisted to face the door with a tomato in her hand. Her mouth pinched, she paled while her chin tipped down.

She grabbed the small remote control on the counter to turn off the speakers before drying her hands on a tea towel.

“I... I thought you were Camila.”

It was as if her whole being had been snuffed out, and I was the fucking dark cloud that brought her down.

I edged farther in with measured steps. The closer I got, the deeper her head dipped into her shoulders.

When her back bumped against the counter, I stopped advancing. “You like that song, huh?”

The apprehension stiffening her body strained through her tone. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

My jaw clenched. She had to stop doing that shit when she’d done nothing wrong. “Stop apologizing, Sienna.”

Cam’s laughing voice burst from behind me. “What happened to our song? Oh hey, Jake. I didn’t know you were home. Was the music too loud?”

“All good, Cam.”

Picking up on the atmosphere in the room, she neared Sienna and touched her shoulder. “What’s wrong, sweet girl?”

Sienna shifted sideways to face her. “I’ve washed the tomatoes, and I wanted to know how you wanted them cut.”

Cam cupped her cheek. “Can you grab some red wine vinegar and olive oil from the pantry?”

Unhidden relief slackened her shoulders before she scuttled toward the pantry.

Cam jerked her head in a move for me to follow her and marched out of the kitchen. Once we were in the hallway, she lowered her voice to a whisper.

“What happened?”

She fucking hated my guts.

“Must have surprised her.”

Planting her fists on her hips, she shook her head and kept her voice low. “Jake, she was in love with you—”

Fuck. Not this again. “Cam—”

“Just be kind to her.”

I was fucking trying.

****

A week later, I came home from the airport around midnight and went straight to my office.

She was probably in bed, but she’d often fallen asleep in her library, curled around a book.

On rainy nights, she’d lean against the window and stay there until the rainfall stopped.

She hadn’t tried to run, and there was no reason for me to check on her, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

I settled in the armchair and logged into the surveillance system.

Her bedroom door was ajar, and all the lights were on, but there was no sign of her.

She usually switched the light off before going to sleep.

I started toward her quarters and stopped at the mouth of the family room.

The small lamp on the side table by the armchair where she’d fallen asleep was on.

In another one of her nightgowns, she was nestled deep into the seat, and a book laid open in her lap.

Cam must have told her I’d be gone, which were the only times she’d ventured out of her quarters.

Crouching by the armchair, I gently slid the book from under her fingers. That woke her up. Her eyes opened straight onto mine, and for a couple of seconds she stared. Then she blinked and lowered them before vaulting over the arm of the armchair.

While I pushed on my knees, she stepped back and dipped her chin. “I’m sorry. Camila said you were away... Sorry.”

She started toward her quarters.

“Sienna?”

With her fingers clutched in front of her and her head bowed, she pivoted slowly to face me. When I handed her the book, she reached for it, and the tremble of her fingers made my back teeth clench.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“It’s a good book. I read it a few years ago. You like spy novels?”

She cleared her throat. “Sometimes.”

“If you liked that one, you’re going to love his first series. Wait here.”

I went to my office and got three books. When I came back, she was in the same position. From the darkened hallway, the play of the light rendered her nightgown almost transparent, giving me a full view of her lush body. My cock hardened, and I slowed my pace.

“Here.”

She flinched. It was slight, but it was there.

“Let me know what you think.”

After she’d accepted the novels, I edged closer, and she pressed the books against her chest.

“Good night.”

“Good night, Sienna.”

I headed to my office and watched her place the pile on the desk of her library, turn off every light in her quarters before disappearing into her bedroom.

Two days later, she picked another book from the shelves, leaving the pile of my books untouched.